


Eighteen

by earlgreyteawrites



Category: Hurt/Comfort - Fandom, Lance McClain - Fandom, Voltron - Fandom, fluff - Fandom, keith kogane - Fandom, klance - Fandom, lance serrano - Fandom, vld fic, vld keith - Fandom, vld lance - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 13:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16854787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: It's Lance's birthday, but of course, Keith has forgotten a present to give him. Guilty and a little ashamed, Keith had to think of something quick. Unexpectedly, the turnout is a more ideal situation.





	Eighteen

It was Lance’s birthday. The paladins had prepared everything from the decorations to the cake. Hunk had slaved all day in the kitchen. Pidge had been working for hours to set up this new video game she found at the space mall. Allura had been decorating so excessively that everyone was worried she might collapse from exhaustion. Coran was obviously setting up Monsters and Mana. As for Shiro, he was finishing the last bit of his present for Lance. Everyone was beyond thrilled, after all, Lance loved parties. It had been a while since everyone had just simply relaxed. Not to mention, the look on Lance’s face would be priceless when he woke up.

The only one who wasn’t excited was Keith. He sat quietly in the corner of the castle as he usually did. Guilt churned quietly within him as he watched the rest of the paladins do everything they could think of for Lance’s birthday. He didn’t know what to do. Back on earth, he never celebrated his birthday. He didn’t even know how birthdays worked. The most he knew was from television, and even then he had hardly watched anything. All he could really remember was the fact that you should have cake and decorations. And of course, the other thing, presents.

The main thing he was worried about was the present. Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Coran, literally everyone but him was giving him something. Pidge was making him that new computer monitor for some earth video games. Hunk had made a giant tin of cookies and put it on the counter. Allura had found some face masks for him at the space mall and shoved them all graciously into a box. And Coran had made Lance a 3D model of the galaxies, all shoved into a tiny cube that you could tap to release the stars. And Shiro had found Lance a romance book, one Lance supposedly loved, and had wrapped it ever so neatly. Keith...Keith had nothing. He knew what Lance liked. He liked food, face masks, video games, guitar, singing, dancing, the list could go on and on. And yet...Keith had nothing he could think of to give.

When they’d all secretly gone to the space mall to shop for Lance, he didn’t know what to do. Nothing about the place screamed Lance. Everyone seemed to know what to do, everyone seemed to know what to get. But he...he was completely in the dark with this sort of thing.

So, Keith watched, an eternal guilt eating him away as the rest of the paladins got ready. Allura set up the last of the decorations, Hunk put the last drop of frosting on the cake, Pidge taped the last of the wrapping paper over the monitor, Allura stopped decorating and Shiro placed his gift happily on the table, beaming. Keith walked over quietly, keeping his head down. To avoid questions, he had earlier told them that his gift was a surprise. Now he just felt stupid for not asking for help or at least a suggestion of what he could get for the blue paladin.

“He’s coming everybody!” Coran yelled, already thrilled as he pulled up the giant holographic ‘Happy Birthday’ sign and ran over to stand in a line that everyone had formed. Keith stood at the end, furthest away from Lance’s entry point. He felt like he was going to throw up as some small footsteps echoed closer and closer to the entryway. He hadn’t done anything. He hadn’t gotten a gift, he hadn’t helped set up, he hadn’t even thought of an idea of a game. He felt totally, utterly useless.

If this were Keith’s birthday, Ance would’ve probably gotten him an alien hover bike. He would’ve planned every game, every decoration and everything that he would eat. Lance would’ve made it perfect. And Keith….Keith had done nothing.

Lance walked through the door, pajamas still on his body and hair slightly ruffled from his pillow. He looked awake and cheery as he opened it.

“Happy Birthday!” everyone exclaimed, even Keith, but he kept his voice lower, afraid he would throw up. Lance’s jaw dropped, eyes going wide with shock. The water glass that he had been holding clattered to the floor. Lance hadn’t expected his birthday to be celebrated, after all they were in the middle of the war. In fact, Lance didn’t expect anyone to even know it was his birthday, much less keep track of it. He looked, at everyone, then at the presents, the decorations and the cake. Lance couldn’t help but feel emotional.

“You guys…” he choked out, beyond happy. Lance couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy.

Everyone watched as Lance started to cry, reaching up and wiping his eyes as tears poured down his cheeks. Keith felt a pang in his chest, but it was in a good way. Keith walked over to Lance, quietly taking his shoulder into his hand and turning him.

“You’re the best.” he cried, a shaky, tearful smile spreading all over his face as he continued to cry. Keith wanted to cry too...because he had done nothing.

“Happy Birthday.” Keith whispered, regardless of what he was feeling. He wanted Lance to be this happy forever.

Before Keith could even react, Lance was hugging him closely, crying into his shoulder. The other slowly surrounded them, pulling Lance into the biggest hug anyone could ever give, but Keith held him the closest. He never wanted to let go of the small cuban boy in his arms. And despite his guilt for not doing really anything, at least he could make him happy somehow. After all...Lance had hugged him first.

When Lance finally calmed down, the party continued. They danced, all except for Keith, the ate cake, they played Monsters and Mana, and of course, singing happy birthday obnoxiously nearly all day was definitely a thing. And when everyone was tired from the party, worn out from all of the exercise and space cake, Shiro notioned one last ordeal.

“Well, it’s Lance’s eighteenth birthday.” he declared, “And we’ve done everything in the book except for one thing.” an almost evil glint passed over his eyes. Lance seemed to know exactly what he was talking about.

“No! No, no, no! Absolutely not! No birthday spanks!” he backed against the wall as Shiro started to crack up. Everyone else did too as Lance protectively clasped his hands over his butt. “My mama did that to me every single year and it hurt.” he screeched, “How would you like your butt slapped by a Cuban mom on your birthday? It leaves handprints for weeks!” he information made everyone laugh harder. Even Keith cracked up.

“That’s not what I was talking about.” Shiro chuckled, “I meant presents.” Lance got an ‘oh’ look on his face, cheeks flushing. But his embarrassment fled as everyone brought up their gifts for him. All of the good feelings inside Keith left too as he watched everyone retrieve a gift, placing it in front of Lance, who smiled bashfully. Guilt swirled in Keith as he watched Hunk place down the last gift, the tin of space cookies.

“Where’s your gift Keith?” Pidge asked, completely unaware that he had no such thing for Lance.

“I-I...uhm.”

“Is it a surprise?!” Lance exclaimed, looking thrilled. Keith felt his face flush and his stomach felt even more sick then before.

“Y-yeah.” he lied quietly. Nobody had time to be suspicious, seeing as Lance began to rip open gifts.

Keith felt like he was going to be sick the whole time. Thank god Lance took forever. He read every letter aloud, opened the gift and either cried and or talked about it for a good five minutes and hugged the person that gave it to him. But even then, doing that five times wasn’t enough for Keith to think of anything good.

He only thought of one thing...and it was completely pathetic. Lance probably wouldn’t even like it, after all...the feelings Keith had for him were one sided as far as he was aware. But it was the only thing he could think of. So as Lance finished hugging and thanking Pidge for her gift, telling her this is all he would do with his free time, Keith panicked. Lance turned to Keith, absolutely beaming with excitement.

“So, what’s the surprise?” he wiggled his eyebrows, looking excited. Keith rolled his eyes, trying to be casual, but his heart was pumping fast in his chest.

“Well...It is tradition to have eighteen of at least something…” Keith mumbled. Lance’s face went red.

“You are not spanking my butt-”

“No! What the heck Lance?!” Keith laughed, but really he wanted to hyperventilate. “...I was thinking something...gentler.” he mumbled. Lance’s face was red. The other paladins kind of chuckled, looking both confused and slightly flustered, wondering what he was suggesting.

Before he could embarrass himself any more, Keith took Lance’s hand, leading him quietly to the other side of the room where it was less easy to see them together. He tapped the control panel, the one that opened the roof to space. Lance’s eyes sparkled as the galaxies around him glowed brightly and beautifully above. Keith knew that Lance missed home, but Keith also knew how much he loved being in the stars. Hopefully this would make it special. Before he could hold himself back, Keith leaned forwards, pressing his lips to the top of Lance’s head. His heart beat wildly in his chest as Lance gazed at him with both shock and fascination in his eyes.

“One.” Keith said softly. Lance could hardly believe what was happening. He felt like he couldn’t breathe because, oh my god Keith had actually kissed him.

Keith leaned in, pressing his lips to Lance’s forehead.

“Two.” he whispered. Lance loved the way his cheeks flushed. He looked so embarrassed, but...happy. Out of all the gifts, Lance never, ever would’ve expected something so special. But honestly, he was already loving this the most.

“You’re so red.” he laughed, poking Keith's nose. Keith’s face turned as red hot as magma, his heart beating so rapidly he could hardly breathe. “...It’s cute.” Lance smiled bashfully. Keith tried to respond, but his words were lost to him. Lance hadn’t told him to stop. He hadn’t rejected him.

Keith leaned in again. This time, he kissed Lance’s ear.

“Three.” Lance giggled as Keith kissed a little longer, trying to tickle him. It was working, Lance was cracking up. He only stopped when Lance placed his hand over Keith’s face, giggling uncontrollably as he pushed him away. Keith leaned in again, pressing his lips to the bridge of his nose.

“Four.” his eyelid.

“Five.” his other ear, which earned a lot of giggling.

“Six.” his right cheek.

“Seven.” his left cheek.

“Eight.” the edge of his jaw. Lance started to get bright red too, laughing and giggling and Keith smushed more kisses to his face.

“Oh my god Keith.” he laughed as Keith drew closer. And soon...they were hugging again.

“Nine.” Keith kissed Behind Lance’s ear. Lance giggled, enjoying the tickling feeling and the smell of Keith’s shirt. It smelled almost too nice. Lance really hoped this wasn’t a joke, that Keith really meant all of this.

“Ten.” Keith kissed behind the other ear, earning a squeal and a laugh from Lance.

“Eleven.” Keith trailed to the other side of Lance’s jaw.

“Twelve.” he smushed his lips against his chin.

“Thirteen.” right under his jaw. Lance was a giggling and blushing mess by this point. Keith didn’t want to admit it, but he was also a complete flustered and giggling mess.

“Fourteen.” a kiss to his lower neck. Lance pressed himself closer to Keith, his laughs fading as me smiled brightly, resting his head against Keith’s shoulder.

“Fifteen.” Keith kissed Lance’s collarbone.

“Get a room!” Pidge screeched, but both of them could care less.

“Sixteen.” Keith went back up, placing a kiss flat on his nose. Lance started giggling again

“Seventeen.” Keith placed a kiss right below his nose, right on the gap between his nose and his lips.

Then Keith paused, his face getting redder than before. Both of their giggling quieted as they stared at one another quietly. They were close, a little bit too close, not that it was a bad thing. Both of them wanted it, and both of them were unsure if the other did. Each of them hesitated for a long time, watching the other with caution. Their breath mingled, their noses bumped. Both of them were flustered and giggly and...wow, they were really in love. But neither of them knew it yet.

Everyone watched, holding their breath. It was like waiting for a jump scare. Was it going to happen, or were they going to break away? Even Pidge waited, eagerness flooding over her face. The tension was clear in the air, everyone knew they both wanted it. Everyone knew they needed it. All of them had watched them skip around each other for so long. Obviously this was completely unexpected when it came to Keith starting the whole kissing thing, but...now he was beng expected to end it. They waited with anticipation as they got closer, their noses bumping, eyes wide. It was so quiet that everyone could hear their heartbeats mingling in a rapid pace.

Lance stared a moment longer, taking in all of Keith’s little features. His good smell was overwhelming. The little freckle that was on the bridge of his nose seemed twice as cute. That little scar on his forehead, so tiny you couldn’t see it unless you were this close, boy did Lance want to kiss it. He waited. Eighteen. Eighteen was another kiss. And...Keith had kissed everywhere else. What if...what if this was last?

If it was, Lance thought he was going to swoon with happiness.

Keith thought he was going to explode. They were so close and he was so ready. But the moment their noses touched his confidence fled away, replaced by everything he feared. Did Lance hate him? Did he think this was weird? Was he laughing in a comfortable or uncomfortable way? Was Lance shaking because he was scared? Was he afraid of Keith because he’d done this? This had been so impulsive, so sudden. What if Lance wanted to stop, what if he wanted to run away from Keith? Had he messed up big time, or was this okay? He couldn’t tell, and that’s what scared him the most.

Keith started to shake. He didn’t know what to do as his hands shivered around Lance’s waist. He could feel his stomach, the tiny bit of squishy baby fat that he always had wanted to touch, just because it was so cute. Lance had looped his arms around his neck, they hung their quietly, putting a little bit of weight on his shoulders. It had been a full minute since Keith had gotten close. Lance looked almost desperate. But desperate for what? To be let go or for him to continue?

“...Eighteen?” Lance asked, his voice soft enough that only Keith could hear, even through the deadly silent atmosphere. It sent a shiver down his spine. And then he knew.

This was perfect for a first kiss, so perfect it was almost Disney level. The galaxy behind them, their friends in front. The beautiful castle with it’s soft blue light. It was romantic. They were blushy, they were happy, everything was perfect. Because Lance had asked...and it was okay.

A new wave of nerves hit Keith as he leaned in, leaving their lips a millimeter apart. Then it occurred to him that...this was his first kiss. He had never kissed before. Would it be good enough? Would Lance be satisfied? Would it be-

Lance didn’t let Keith’s thoughts continue as he met him halfway, pressing their lips together with a soft ease.

Keith didn’t know what to do. Should he keep his mouth shut? Open it? How was he supposed to breathe? For a second these thoughts haunted him, but he soon realised Lance was just figuring it out, just like he was.

Keith’s were soft, just a little bit wet. Lance had never kissed anyone before, at least not on the lips, truth be told. But, this felt right and this felt nice.

He pulled Keith closer, which obviously startled him. Keith exclaimed, a small squeak coming out of his mouth as he pressed him just a little bit closer. Lance laughed into their kiss, pulling apart from a moment so Keith could breathe. Keith’s face was probably as red as it could get. His eyes went wide as he stared at Lance, barely able to breathe as they hugged each other close. Lance giggled, but knew he looked the exact same. He was hardly able to believe what just happened. At least, until Keith leaned in and kissed him again.

Their lips met again. Then they broke apart for another short break to stare at each other and giggle nervously.

Then they kissed again. Shorter, softer this time. More giggles tumbled out of their mouths.

Then again. Very short, but just as good. Lots of giggles.

Again. Laughing.

Again. Crying.

Again. A bit of both laughing and crying.

It was only after a few more short pecks that they stopped, blushing and laughing and crying because, wow, this felt so great and the relief that the other liked them was so powerful. The other paladins applauded and whooped, being weird like they always were, but it felt good.

“Happy birthday.” Keith shrugged a little, smiling awkwardly as Lance giggled stupidly inside of his arms.

“...That was the best present ever.” Lance grinned, pecking Keith on the lips again. Their hearts soared as they connected for a brief moment and let go, giggling and crying like idiots.

Relief that not only Lance liked him, but also that he had actually succeeded in making Lance’s birthday the best it could be was the main reason behind Keith’s tears. But it was okay. It felt good, and Keith was okay with that.

Lance felt the same relief, wiping his tears and laughing. Keith liked him. Keith actually liked him back. Sure, Lance had assumed he did but he hadn’t actually known until now. Kissing him had been the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to him. And even if they were awkward, that was okay, because Keith made him too happy for any awkwardness to get in the way of the joy he felt right now.

For a moment longer, the hugged and kissed each other softly on each others faces, but mostly on the lips. The other paladins laughed and applauded occasionally in a slightly mocking way, but it just encouraged them to kiss more like the lovesick fools they were. And honestly, everyone could easily agree that Keith’s present made this the best birthday gift ever. Even if he went a little over eighteen.


End file.
